 African Antiques
March Newsletter
Dear friends,
Many people asked me before and after the Tajan auction to keep them informed about the results.
I also received many emails from client that visited the Tajan's site and couldn't find any result, they asked
me if the sale actually occurred and if I had some sale results since the Tajan organisation removed the tribal art auction pages from his site and gives a "no comment" answer to questions.
So let me tell you what happened...
When I came in Paris at the Tajan
Tribal Art auction February 19th 2008 only two dealers specialised in Oceanic weapons where in the room. Most of those attending the auction being unknown faces to me, attracted probably by the big media campaign of Tajan perfect
organisation.
The reopening of the Tajan Tribal Art auction department with a new expert Hervé Naudy, seemed not to have been accepted by the Parisian dealers, most of them having already one or two auctions planned each year.
The first multi-owner sale at Tajan was not well attended, but there were still some good pieces in this sale that certainly would have been in a top ten at many, if not most, auctions of other Parisian dealers. The already small audience did dwindle down a lot this afternoon to only about forty people.
The main lots remained all unsold, even those with a good provenance. The choice of some pieces was questionable, many pieces where also removed before the auction, and the estimates high for average pieces.
The boycott of Parisian dealers did the rest. Even if the buyers premium at Tajan is not as high as at the Sotheby's and Christie's new outrageously high buyer's premium, high limits estimates, and a catalogue with not enough quality pieces can have the same effect.
From the seven lots I included in the auction, even with low limits, not one sold.
Hope this answers your many questions,
Enjoy this month news,
David Norden
 Zemanek 53rd tribal art auction. 2008, March 1.
This is an interesting auction with more than 500 lots, and also hundred of books.
Read details at Zemanek
 African
Art at Fowler Impresses, but Ali Standish found LACMA Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Tradition
as Innovation in African Art Disappoints.
Now,
Africa LACMA A new LACMA gallery shows African art as more than influence.
Tradition as Innovation in African Art is on view at LACMA
January 27–November 2, 2008
OPINIONS: 'Black
Art' Draws New Collectors, Better Prices. ...The changing attitudes are not
the only explanation for the changing market. Bill Hodges, owner of Manhattan's
Bill Hodges Gallery, attributes it to "African Americans being able to
afford an investment in art." Hodges has collected African
American art for more than 30 years. For most of that time, 90 percent of his
customers were of non-African descent. Today, he says, the numbers have reversed
-- over 95 percent of his customers are fellow African Americans. ... Will
this also happen with the traditional African Art ? Gives us your thoughts in
our Discussion Group.
Indian Beading: Of all the peoples who have made beadwork a part of their culture, it's arguable that the Native Americans have brought it to its highest artistic levels. Many people think only of wampum and necklaces when they think of Indian beading, but traditionally there's much more to it than that. That's the topic we explore in the following article.
 Yoruba Art & Sculpture at Hallie Ford
Selections from the Mary Johnston Collection . January 19-March 16, 2008
 According to
Pam McClusky, Yoruba art is filled with ashes, or “the power to make things happen ... Pam
McClusky, is curator of African and Oceanic art at the Seattle Art Museum ( SAM
)
Tapping Currents
includes eight new media works that reveal the aesthetic and expressive diversity of contemporary artists in Africa and the Diaspora.
French articles:
 Le Muséum de Toulouse
réinvente l'histoire naturelle après 10 ans de travaux. Squelettes d'animaux préhistoriques, exposés le 23 janvier 2008 au nouveau Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Toulouse
Biarritz Art africain
une exposition inédite . Elle est le fruit d'une collaboration étroite avec des collectionneurs originaires de la région Aquitaine qui ont accepté de présenter pour la première fois une sélection d'objets rares regroupés en fonction de leur provenance géographique.
Quai
Branly : An exhibition about the
Batak and one about African
ivories
- Ivoires
D'Afrique du 19 février - 11 mai 2008. Un éléphant sa trompe
énormement !
-
- trompe latérale
Sierra Leone (perce conique) © musée du quai Branly photo Hugues Dubois
Advertise with us: If you are a dealer with quality pieces, or an auction
house, or if you have some events to publish let us know. Ask us for details.
Just hit reply...
Be our guest writer: If you are a
scholar or a collector, and have some interesting text you want to publish on
our site, let us know. Just hit reply ...
New Pieces for sale:
This month we found some high-end pieces. Some of them will soon be published
at www.buyafricanantiques.com , but if you are seriously interested and want to see them in preview, just answer this email with your specific request.
We found a stunning Aduma mask from Gabon (58 cm high, forehead depth 22cm, price 20,000 €) coming from missionaries in the Netherlands.
A fine seated big male Baule figure 64 cm with provenance Lucien Van de
Velde, and with an interesting coiffe on it's head with cowries and horse hair,
this piece is registered in the Yale database. Price: 25,000 €.
We have also at this moment a real old Dogon mask (5,000 €), a
strange Bakota pre-1945 (6,500€), a pende sickness mask (2,000 €) etc...
We hope you enjoyed this edition,
David Norden
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